May 06, 2019

When Sustainability and Flexibility Collide: Presenting Woodside

Sustainability and inclusive design may be an emerging trend that some corporate offices are just beginning to explore, but for Woodside’s new Perth headquarters, it’s an essential component.

The new headquarters for the largest Australian natural gas producer, designed by Cox Architecture (base-building) and Unispace (interior fit out), sets a new standard for workplace design in Australia, placing work-life balance and employee wellbeing at the fore, while still remaining modern, forward-looking, and adhering to the ever-changing needs of its employees.

Woodside needed an office that truly reflected its core values, as well as enabling a working style that was both agile and responsive.

Agile working means creating a flexible and productive work environment where the various working areas and modes in a single workspace allow workers the freedom and flexibility to work where they want, when they want. The fit out of Woodside’s Perth headquarters shows not only an outstanding collaboration between Unispace, Woodside and Zenith, but also a true understanding of modern, agile working.

BuzziPicnic by Alain Gilles

Orbis Workstations by ZENITH Design

Chris Smith, Major Accounts - Business Development Manager for Zenith, attests the success of Woodside’s transition into flexible, agile working to the symbiosis between the company and design team.

“Zenith was awarded the project due to our ability to design, engineer and customise our Orbis workstation system to suit Woodside and Unispace’s specific requirements. Our manufacturing capabilities and proven performance on large scale commercial projects was also key to our success,” Chris says.

“Our Anticipatory Research Program provided expert industry knowledge and enabled the integration of technology into our workstations; a key requirement to the entire project.”

Fitzroy by Schamburg+Alvisse

Seen throughout Woodside’s office space are over 2700 customised workstations using the sturdy Orbis frames. Zenith knows better than most that the way we work has evolved. Now more than ever, design solutions are supporting the notion of work as a lifestyle choice, with fun, flexible pieces to adapt into your workspace, and the customisable Orbis workstations remain a standout in this emerging work-meets-lifestyle genre.

Versatile and thoughtfully-designed, the workstations support individual focused work, as well as collaborative and shared work modes, and can easily be transformed and customised to meet any specific requirements. Zenith also adapted the workstations to include metal tambour units and planter boxes, allowing workers to enjoy the benefits of greenery, enhancing the biophilia of the space.

BuzziPicnic by Alain Gilles

True to form, its Zenith’s capacity to research and test products, as well as utilise virtual reality during the prototype phase, that played an integral part to the success of the Woodside headquarters design process.

A firm grasp on the ever-changing climate of technology in the work environment allows Zenith to not just respond to market demands, but also be pioneers that inspire and innovate.